What is Prisms optical

Hyperion Optics supplies a range of prisms optical to meet UV-Visible-NIR applications, with high surface quality and tight tolerance angles.  Our materials selection ranges from flint/crown glasses, fused silica, ZnSe, CaF2 etc.

For custom need, such as cemented prism or additional treatment on the surfaces, please have us assess your requirement, our engineers are always happy to assist.

Right angle prisms turn light through 90° by internal reflection from the hypotenuse, or 180° from two right angle surfaces. When the light incident angle is perpendicular to the right angle surfaces, the light will be reflected at the surface of glass/air interface.

When the input light is incident from hypotenuse surface, the light will be fully reflected in the glass / air interface at the right angle surfaces. The second total reflection occurs at next right angle surface.

Compared to regular reflective mirrors, right angle prisms are easily to be mounted; further its reliable mechanical stress has better stability and strength. Hence right angle prisms have been considered as suitable alternatives to reflective mirrors in various applications.

Hyperion Optics supplies a range of right angle prisms to meet UV-Visible-NIR applications, with high surface quality and tight tolerance angles.  Our materials selection ranges from BK7, Bak4, fused silica, ZnSe, CaF2 etc.

Material tips for your application:

• For working wavelength down to 175nm or so, with low thermal expansion requirement, Fused silica is the right choice with tighter tolerance control due to its excellent mechanical stability.
  
• For visible and NIR wavelength, N-BK7 or CDGM H-K9L is suitable and cost effective.
  
• For infrared wavelength, ZnSe and germanium are the right material to pick up.
  
• Calcium fluoride has relatively wide transmittance range from 0.18~8um, it is the best choice when your application covers such wide transmission range.

Hyperion Optics has full capability of processing right angle prisms based on the materials we proposed above with 3 precision levels fit your actual demand.

Cemented Prism Cube

Hyperion Optics are specialist of providing custom prisms, meanwhile, we are also capable of precision prism bonding of custom design.

From simple bi-prism bonding to multiple elements cementing, we provide detailed testing report regarding key specs such as angles, surface accuracy and coating measurement. Let us help you with your own custom bonding design.

Corner cube is total reflecting prism formed by 3 perpendicular surfaces, where the incident light angle does not influence the final emerging light angle but reflected by 180°, it offers excellent parallelism between the incident and exit beams.

Hyperion Optics supplies both corner cube in mount or without mount, our precision corner cube retroreflectors have been used for Laser ranging, positioning and guidance, laser communication, optical transformation.

Dove prisms are used as reflective prism inverting the image. Dove prism is shaped from a truncated right-angle prism. Normally, dove prisms are used in the parallel optical path based on critical angle principle to meet total internal reflection with limited FOV.

A beam of light entering one of the sloped faces of the prism undergoes total internal reflection from the inside of the longest (bottom) face and emerges from the opposite sloped face. Images passing through the prism are flipped, and because only one reflection takes place, the image is inverted but not laterally transposed.